New Fiscal Code, Code for Fiscal Procedures – to be finalised by February 15. PM Ponta aims to improve tax collecting, reduce bureaucracy

The draft texts for the new Fiscal Code and the Code for Fiscal Procedures are to be finalised by the government by February 15, will be then submitted for public debate and sent to Parliament until March 15 for debates and approval, PM Victor Ponta announced on Thursday.

“If we succeed to debate and approve them during the first session of the parliament, until June 30, we could have for the first time a Fiscal Code and a Code for Fiscal Procedures resulted through detailed debates and by political consensus,” Ponta said. He added the documents are to be discussed by the MPs until political consensus is reached between the majority and the minority, so that both codes become operational by the beginning of next year.

PM Ponta vowed the flat tax of 16 percent will not be amended in 2015 and 2016. The government does not intend to change the tax, or to set other new taxes.

During a joint press conference with Finance Minister Darius Valcov, PM Victor Ponta underlined the need to improve tax collecting. According to Hotnews, the government is committed to cut the VAT down to 19 percent by next year and to set differentiated VAT levels for agri-foods. The minimum salary should reach RON 1,200, while programmes such as ‘The first house’ and ‘The new house’ are to commence.

PM Ponta called on the National Authority for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) to continue fighting fiscal evasion. The Finances should cut down bureaucracy and enable easier access of the contributors to the fiscal authorities. In another development, the Premier said “there are two choices regarding the IMF: not to conclude a new agreement, as we don’t need a new one, or to sign a new accord similar to the one signed by Poland. It’s free; it’s not bad to have it going. We’ll see all about it after the current agreement is terminated,” Ponta said.

2014 budgetary deficit – 1.98 pc of GDP

The estimated budgetary deficit for 2014 is 1.98 of the GDP, final data are to be released on January 25, Finance Ministry Darius Valcov announced on Thursday. Valcov underscored the deficit met the 2 percent of the GDP target agreed upon together with the IMF and the European Commission. The Romanian authorities and the international institutions have agreed upon the budget deficit target for 2015 at 1.83 percent of GDP.